keep on keeping on

Here is a great post from Mark Batterson, perfect for a Monday morning.

The king stuck the ground three times and then quit. The Holy Man became angry with him: "Why didn't you hit the ground five or six times?"

II Kings 13

Dare I say it? The primary reason we don't experience a complete breakthrough is because we quit too soon! There is a time to call it quits--if the Lord has released you from the thing he called you too. But you better not quit for any other reason!

When I get discouraged, 9 times out of 10, it's because I'm focused on the short-term. I need to zoom out and see the big picture. Here's some encouragement. In the words of Bill Gates: we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in 2 years and underestimate what we can accomplish in 10 years. It's true! Don't quit after three attempts. Keep hitting the ground. Literally and figuratively. One way we honor God is simply this: keep on keeping on.

when the bicycle threatened the church

Bobby Gruenewald blogged about this at Swerve.com. In 1896, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church condemned bicycling on Sunday for enticing parishioners away from church and violating the Fourth Commandment:

The Sabbath, the Lord’s Day of rest for the body, and of worship for the soul, is especially threatened by many unscriptural innovations…Sunday bicycle pleasure riding…

Hard to imagine in our modern world isn’t it? I can’t remember the last time I heard someone describe the bicycle as such an amazing innovation that it puts the Sabbath in jeopardy

But to me, this passage isn’t just an interesting bit of history. It speaks volumes about how the Church reacts to innovation at times. Instead of embracing it and looking for ways to leverage it, we feel threatened.
Can you think of examples where today’s Church is reacting in a similar way?

praying robber turns himself in

14 things jesus did not say

I got this on Perry Noble's blog. Good stuff.

We get things messed up from time to time…especially the words of Jesus…here is what He did NOT say…

#1 – “They will know you are my disciples by your theology, and the arrogance that accompanies it.” (John 13:35)

#2 – “Dream really small dreams and make sure you never ask for anything big!” (John 14:12-14, Psalm 2:8)

#3 – “If someone doesn’t believe just like you believe…make sure to do all you can to attack, criticize and beat them down as much as possible.” (Mark 9:38-41)

#4 – “Be tolerant of everyone…I am one of the many ways to God.” (John 14:6)

#5 – “Make sure you make the church about you…that you are served well…please, don’t do anything that might cause you any type of inconvenience. My goal is for you to be happy!” (Matthew 20:28, Luke 9:23-24)

#6 – “Please, whatever you do, DO NOT tell people the good news…keep it to yourself! The reason I died on the cross is so that you could get into really small groups of people and talk about ‘deep things’ that aren’t going to help anyone when it comes to eternity.” (Matthew 28:20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:14, Romans 10:17)

#7 – “Don’t EVER try anything new…don’t ever take a risk…don’t ever take a step of faith. Be AVERAGE!” (Isaiah 43:18-19, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:6)

#8 – “You can follow me and it will not impact your money at all!” (Matthew 6:19-24)

#9 – “Pray a prayer to get out of hell…and then live however you want.” (John 14:15, John 14:21)

#10 – “You can do it without me!” (John 15:5)

#11 – “I don’t expect you OR your church to be fruitful in any way.” (John 15:4)

#12 – “Isolate yourself from the world!” (John 17:15)

#13 – “Make sure there is a time when you question my word because it will one day be no longer relevant.” (Luke 21:33)

#14 – “Stop crying out to me in desperation…can’t you see I’m busy.” (Mark 10:46-52)

brian mclaren and ramadan fasting

FROM USA TODAY: Like Muslims worldwide, Ben Ries has refrained from food and drink from sunrise to sundown in an act of self-restraint during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends this weekend.
Each evening, the 31-year-old Ries joins Muslim families in a room above a hardware store in Bellingham, Wash., to find fellowship and break the fast with a handful of dates and a welcome glass of water.

Only Ries is not a Muslim. He is pastor of 70-member Sterling Drive Church of Christ and a self-described committed Christian who just a few weeks ago had to turn to Google to find a Muslim in his community.

Ries is among a small group of Christians who've joined well-known evangelical author and speaker Brian McLaren in observing a Ramadan fast, opening a new chapter in interfaith relations between two traditions often at odds.

To McLaren and his Christian and Muslim fasting partners, it's a neighborly gesture of solidarity that deepens their respective faiths and sends a message about finding peace and common ground.

But the project also has faced fierce criticism. Some evangelicals say that fasting alongside Muslims at Ramadan, however well-intentioned, is a dangerous blurring of the lines and runs contrary to Christianity.

McLaren, 53, is the godfather of the "emerging" or "emergent" church, a loose-knit movement that seeks to recover ancient Christian worship practices and, in some cases, question traditional evangelical theology.

While fasting is part of Christian tradition, it isn't exactly a widespread practice. Some college students from different faiths have started interfaith "Fast-A-Thons" during Ramadan to raise money to fight poverty. But that usually involves fasting for a day, not committing to an entire month.

In announcing his Ramadan fast plans on his blog last month, McLaren wrote, "We are not doing so in order to become Muslims: we are deeply committed Christians. But as Christians, we want to come close to our Muslim neighbors and to share this important part of life with them." The goal is to join Muslims in the observance as "a God-honoring expression of peace, fellowship and neighborliness," he wrote.

McLaren, a former pastor, said his Ramadan fast is also part of his post-9-11 worldview.

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, said the idea of Christians fasting at Ramadan appears at first to be neighborly solidarity, but it's more than that.

"The logic of Islam is obedience and submission," Mohler said. "It's by following these practices that a Muslim demonstrates his obedience to the rule of the law through the Quran. For a Christian to do the same automatically implies a submission to the same rule. And beyond that, it's an explicit affirmation that this is a good and holy thing. From a New Testament perspective, it is not a good and holy thing."

Christians should have friendships with people of other faith, but engaging in other traditions' worship practices is problematic, said Mark Driscoll, lead preaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Driscoll said that in this case, Christians and Muslims fast for different purposes and do not worship the same God.

Christians observing a Ramadan fast is "insane at best ... Sad, tragic, horrific, misguided, dangerous, wrong," Driscoll said. "If Christians want to pray during Ramadan, they should pray not with Muslims but for Muslims — that Muslims would come to know Jesus. To pray with Muslims absolutely dishonors Jesus."

What do you think? Insane? Sad? Tragic? Wrong? or Helpful? Beneficial?

school prayer charges stir protests-educators face jail in florida

This article is hard to believe. I wonder what the founders of this nation would think?

looking forward to a new book by francis chan

Chan's first book, Crazy Love was great. I am looking forward to Forgotten God. Check out one of his chapters. Can't wait to get into it. I will let you know what I think.

in jesus' name

Jesus an offensive word? Check out the article about Gerry Stoltzfoos, an AG pastor here in the Penn-Del district when he is not allowed to pray the invocation for the state House of Representatives.

why i want an iphone

iphone tells moviegoers when it is safe to pee.

It’s a rare find: an iPhone app that’s both useful and hilarious. RunPee, an existing website that launched its iPhone app today, checks both those boxes.

Here’s the idea: you’re watching a movie in the theater and need to take a restroom break, but you don’t want to miss the best part. The RunPee iPhone app has a timer letting you know when it’s safe to take a break, and gives you a summary of what you missed upon your return.

It also lets you know whether you should stay till the end of the credits, since movies like Iron Man include bonus footage afterwards. You start the timer when the movie begins, and safe break-times are scheduled throughout. The app costs $0.99 [iTunes link].

In an amusing press release for the iPhone app, creator Dan Florio explains:

Our iPhone app gives movie goers “immunity” from the effects of mega-sized sodas and flushes away those grueling post-movie restroom lines where you have to wait your turn in pain and avoid awkward eye contact with the 30 other people in the restroom with you….a bladder is a terrible thing to hold.

got hope?